I have a bad issue that i need answers to quickly please!!! I drove about 20 miles to my girlfriends, and when i got there i parallel parked like always. When i was backing up i noticed a burning smell almost like burnt rubber, and when i hopped out and walked around my truck i noticed tons of smoke coming from my back passenger wheel from the inside.. At first i thought i rubbed the tire really bad on the sidewalk, but its coming from the rotor area. What can cause all this smoke? I didnt notice any grabbing of brakes and i didnt leave my e-brake on either..



The nearest shop is 15 miles away and my house is 20... Would it be okay to drive back home?

 

Leaking axle seal could cause it. Seized caliper slides as well.

 

Axle seal seems like a more expensive fix, so i hope its not that! Id imagine ill have to replace a break pad and rotor if it was doing this the whole drive...

 

Not really. You press on the brakes, caliper moves, when you release the pressure comes off but the pad is still touching. As you drive it wears down, and a gap is created until the net brake application. So if it got stuck after leaving home, it would have burnt off in 20 miles or so. If this kept happening over 100 or 200 miles, ya it would likely be burnt down pretty bad. I had a front brake do it once before. Didn't change any hardware, just cleaned the slides and lubed them up.

 

drove back home, and no smoke or burning smell at all... who knows.. brakes seem to work fine, but i think my e brake is about to go.. i can roll 15 feet with it all the way down on a slight incline

 

Definitely out of adjustment! The shoes last a long time in the ebrakes.

 

It doesnt hurt to at least jack it up and poke around there, and just take a look around for anything out of the norm. At least for peace of mind.

 

im going to tomorrow if it isnt raining..

i had someone adjust my ebrake, but it loosened back up after like a week... any ideas? :s